This handbook introduces a step-by-step example of Activism Through Storytelling with Code. The modeled project is a code-based visual narrative website titled “about Me You & Us.” The website will be an example for artists, designers, activists, and coders on learning how to narrate and visualize stories to advocate for important topics using p5.js.
The project “Activism Through Storytelling with Code” was created as a part of the Google Summer of Code 2021. Google Summer of Code is a global program that pairs students with mentors to develop a 10-week programming project and learn about open-source software development.
For this project, I worked with the Processing Foundation to help develop and expand Processing and p5.js to be more accessible and inclusive for artists, designers, educators, and beginners. With guidance from my mentors Elgin-Skye McLaren and Grace Kwon, I developed this project which focuses on art, coding, and identity/community. The project includes a visual narrative website “about Me You & Us,” this Project Handbook, and a GitHub Repository with all the project files.
My name is Niki Ito, and I was born and raised in Japan. I moved to the U.S. to pursue fine arts and graphic design in 2016. I recently took a mandatory programming class for my graphic design degree where I was taught by professor Stalgia Grigg about the p5.js editor and creative coding for the first time. Concurrently, I took my first HTML and CSS web design class. The p5.js programming class was especially interesting since I was able to create illustrative visuals and animations using code. I have always liked math and the ability to solve equations through the understanding of logic. Creative coding allowed me to combine that interest with my passion for the visual arts.
It was also in my programming class that I was inspired to create work that is more conceptual and community-driven. The p5.js processing community values free open-source projects that help expand the accessibility to diverse audiences. For these reasons, I chose to challenge myself during this program to develop a project that focuses more on community. For the first time, I worked on a collaborative and community-based project that advocates against the anti-Asian sentiment that has been growing during the pandemic.